Staff Writers

David Archuleta Wikipedia

David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. At ten years old, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition leading to other television singing appearances.[6] When he was twelve years old, Archuleta became the Junior Vocal Champion on Star Search 2.[6] In 2007, at sixteen years old, he became one of the youngest contestants on the seventh season of American Idol.[7] In May 2008 he finished as the runner-up, receiving 44 percent of over 97 million votes.

Archive for the ‘Balance’ Category

I have to admit, it has felt kind of nice. Not because I don’t like connecting with all of you. But more to stop worrying about what everyone else thinks. I haven’t posted as often on Instagram and Twitter as I would before, but that has also felt really nice as well. Not because I don’t like sharing, but it’s because I have a tendency to get caught up in whateveryone thinks about what I’m doing. I’ve learned to enjoy the moment and the people that I’m with, rather than think “Oh yeah, I’m supposed to be showing everyone my life and how great it is.” and “I’d get more followers if I post more of this.” Or “The more of my face in the photo the more likes it’ll get.” (I talked about this in my last blog, but will expand on it a little more today.)

I will say every now and then I like to share moments, quotes, thoughts (And honestly I think it is fun to post photos and videos occasionally) but afterwards I feel a little overwhelmed. I think it’s from my nature that I’ve always been someone who likes to keep to himself and stay away from attention.

People say “Well you picked the wrong career for that, buddy.” But I’d disagree. We all have obstacles we face. Life is designed to give us hurdles that would keep us from following our dreams, keep us from making new memories, and from being happy if we choose to let fear run its course in us and always take the path of least resistance. But life is made that way because happiness and satisfaction come from accomplishing things that we think are beyond our limits. How many of you have done something that you didn’t want to do because you didn’t think you could and felt nervous, and afterward felt so good and satisfied for now having accomplished something youdidn’t think you were capable of? It really is designed that way for a reason.

Just because I don’t like attention doesn’t mean I don’t like singing. I’d sing for everyone all of the time if I could be off the stage, unnoticed and still give everybody the experience of feeling better and more motivated after listening. But I’ve been given the challenge. I find so much joy from keeping to myself to give me time to meditate and be still inan inconspicuous world, but I also find joy in sharing with as many people as possible the things that make me happy.

I found an interesting balance of the two of these while I was a mormon missionary in Chile for 2 years from March 2012-March 2014. I could walk around the streets talking to every type of person you could meet: old and young, wealthy and poor, content and depressed—You name it. I love people. I love hearing their stories. I love sharing with them things that I feel can motivate them to become their best selves. Sharing my beliefs and the things that filled my soul without expecting to get anything back felt amazing.

Hardly anyone ever recognized me down in Chile for my music career, but I would sing for just about everyone I met. Many of them worked in the Chilean copper mines, while many others worked in the fruit fields. Others were teachers, students, security guards, small business owners, etc. I’d sing for people on the streets, in their homes or in their yards. For some reason I had some of the most fulfilling performances of my life singing for 1 or 2 people at a time, without the applause or notoriety of crowds—Noway of keeping track of social media’s hits/likes/views. I realized music could touch me and them the same way it could having a special musical moment on TV in front of millions of people. For some reason, that moment of satisfaction isn’t about the numbers. It’s about that moment being real and honest regardless if it’s singing for 1 person or 1 million people. Whether it’s singing for the president of the United States or the old widow at the end of the street who lives by herself, it’s all about that moment ofconnecting person to person, along with this connection originating from something greater than me from above. I certainly believe it’s a connection with God.

So yes, it’s a challenge for me, but I don’t intend on giving up. I’m trying to find the balance of living a life that’s meaningful to me both personally (in my quiet and simple world) and career-wise (as a performer and musician.) Each aspect involves 2 principles: (1) loving people and (2) keeping that spiritual connection with God.

I’ve been continuously writing and in the last couple of weeks have been looking for producers to work with. I’m hoping I can work this time around with people who can keep me focused on the things I’ve told you about. Talented people who are good at their craft but keep the focus on the simple but special moment, instead of the pursuit of being “the hippest, biggest, and greatest.” To be honest it’s hard to keep that focus. You get tempted to keep up with everyone and everything else because it looks amusing. But learning from the past I know what that does does and doesn’t do for me.

Do any of you have conflicting aspirations or goals? If you do, have any of you found a way to find a balance for them to work? If you haven’t, I hope this helps you think twice, and as you make progress please share it. You can share ithere, and also be sure to share it with your family and friends.

There’s a reason the contrast of yin and yang find a happy balance to create something greater than if they were separated. I believe that balance comes from finding common ground, similar goals, and the same purpose. It’s up to you and me to find the way to make that balance happen.

David

Do the red and white in a pokeball count as showing balance too? (Gotta Catch ‘Em All)

I have lugged three huge lawn bags filled to the brim, out to the trunk of the car: some things just don’t fit they way they used to. Whether this is good news or bad, I will leave up to the imagination.

However, I found myself thinking of this the other day in relation to DA and wondered how things “fit” for him since his return to the states, his career, and his family.

Like coming home to a “found” trunk of clothes, some fit, some don’t, and some old favorites look different. Each missionary coming home (or anyone returning from a two-year-life-changing-experience) finds that things “fit” differently than before. We are not the same shape as we once were. Neither within nor without. Each person takes their own amount of time to reassess, evaluate, and experiment on the “shape” they are in. Which things are the same? Which are different?

And most of all – What did I bring home with me that I especially want to keep?

DA brought back an even greater determination to be of service to his fellow-man. This is very evident in the choices he has made of when and to whom, he has performed. I do not believe that this means he devalues his “regular” fan base. I think it just means he has sharpened his focus.

We know that he has said how he loved being in the mission-field because the focus was not on himself. I can imagine that trying to keep the focus on what he is doing rather than on himself, is one reason he seems more distant to his fans. It is because of his own goals and what he needs to do in order to achieve them, not from anything the fans have done. We are a diverse and sometimes unwieldy bunch, and we love to focus on him. He on the other-hand, would rather not focus on himself, and he has only so much time and energy. I believe that his ability to balance the demands of a public life and a private one will improve with time and maturity. (When your public is your “buyer”, you simply have to connect!) Yet for now, he wants to be more private. I can respect that.

He is working. Goes to school. Writes music. Records. Travels. Spends time with family. Has told us in different ways that he is working with a variety of music. And… Although he has not sung to us (sigh), I do not believe that that means he does not want to.

It is just that for the first time in his life, he gets to try it his way, in his own time frame, without constant input from outside sources. What a challenge he has taken on! What courage it must take to push himself to stand musically in a place previously denied him, and to hear the echo of his own heart.

He will come. What he brings to us all then, will not be perfect. But it will be as perfect as he can make it. And it will come from as true a place as he can discover: it will be with as much of his soul as he can form into sound.

Like this:

“..this was my first time coming back performing with the title “David Archuleta” and having to embrace that..”

A few months ago a fan who has had a son return from a mission said, “The David who left will not be back.”

This comment has stuck in my brain ever since I had heard it. Back then I really didn’t know what to think. Did it mean that he would be so different that I wouldn’t understand who he had become? There was never a doubt in my mind that David would not continue his singing career. I had a few concerns about his readjustment to living back in the US. After a few weeks, I was excited to see that he was back writing music and hanging out with musicians in the studio. They were happy to be working with him on new material. He was beginning to act like the “old David” that I knew from 2012.

And then he got silent. Not too much coming from him on twitter. No vlog besides the short ones just when he came back home. Fans began to get restless and the rumor mill buzzed with everything from he’s going to college to he is dating like crazy, as he looks for his kind of perfect. Many “sightings” began to pop up on twitter, some with pictures, showing him with friends around Utah. Something that never has happened before was that people tweeted pictures from Sunday services, some posed with a fan after services, some without his knowledge. Fans were desperate for news and ravenously consumed any information that may give a clue to what David was working on. Then we got word that Called To Serve would be live-streamed. Finally, we got to see what David was doing on his mission, first hand. Because he had asked for privacy while he was in Chile, it was a relief to see him talk about his mission publicly. I think it was a relief to him too.

David posted a vlog to fans where he talked about what he was doing. Exasperated by things he had read online about his lack of communication with fans, he said he had been busy working on writing music. I saw an assertive man telling us how he wasn’t going to do things just to please others. He was going to run his career his way. If he had anything to share, he’d be in touch. This was a huge change in how he communicated before he left for Chile. This time there was no doubt. He was not going to be pressured to produce music or anything else, until he was satisfied with the result.

Eventually, more news surfaced showing that David had visited Shay Carl the YouTube celebrity. I’d never heard of him but I did read where he might be of help showing David how to become more social media savvy. It might have paid off some, because we had the Face To Face chats which were live-streamed for all to view on demand. Though LDS youth were the target, I know fans enjoyed watching him speak, even in two languages. These videos show David’s genuine love for his faith and fellow man. He was as real and open as I have ever seen him.

I am beginning to get what “The David who left will not be back” meant.

David has become more open about who he is, a mature man who knows what he wants in his life. Not just a singer, but a humanitarian, who sings. The Military Tribute Tour was a chance for him and the other men who entertained with him, to thank the troops by using his God-given talent. He even said he had to embrace the title “David Archuleta” as he sang for them. So, I have come to the realization that in some way, David had to go on his mission to find himself. To be comfortable with expressing what he needs in his life. He left as a young man who needed to get away from all the celebrity and what that meant in his life. He came back a mature man who knows what he wants and is willing to embrace the celebrity on his own terms. Mission accomplished!

Summertime vacations: Road trips! First things first. Load up the car with all seven of my David CD’s!! Taking David along certainly makes the trip more enjoyable. “Never leave home without him!” and the chance to listen to the David songs I hadn’t played for a while.

There is room in my CD case for 24 discs. So, this year, I decided to include some older albums that I hadn’t listened to in years, not since I “met” David. I added music by Billy Joel, Tom Jones, Paul Simon, Ray Charles, Elton John and Hall & Oates. (I know, oldies, but goodies!)

All very fabulously successful artists. Mind you, I’m not giving up on David… Oh, noooooooooo, never!! Just so proud to have David in my CD case along with these greats!!

I had just listened to The Other Side of Down and was as amazed as ever over David’s “Who I Am.” Oh, David. You’re stuck in a cab for two hours, pondering your life, “taking the time out now,” “walking in my own two shoes” finding yourself. This song conveys so well the mood you were in four years ago when you wrote it.

David Archuleta “Who I Am” with lyrics:

Next CD up was Can’t Stop Dreaming by Daryl Hall.

The first song is titled “Cab Driver.” Wow, a cab song! Hahahaha! Btw… this is a still relevant, very jazzy and soulful song. Daryl Hall wrote “Cab Driver” almost 20 years ago. In it, he finds himself needing a cab. The driver asks: “Where am I goin’ to?” He replies: He wants to get back to his girl; he’s been on the road way too long, and sadly, it’s not the life he bargained for.

Daryl Hall “Cab Driver” Live:

Standing in the rain Cab comes into view Ask me, “Where am I goin’ to?” Running for so long Been gone too many nights And my heart has paid the price This ain’t heaven This ain’t the life bargained for My reason for living Isn’t here inside this car Girl, I gotta get back to you

Cab driver Take me home Spent too much time away Too much time alone Cab driver Take me home Spent too much time away from my baby

I need familiar streets To show that you’re near Feeling like a stranger here Oh does the mirror show the miles on my face Am I goin’ any place?

This ain’t heaven This ain’t the life I was hopin’ for My reason for living Sure ain’t here inside this car You know I’ve gotta get back to you

Cab driver Take me home Spent too much time away Too much time alone Cab driver Take me home Spent too much time away from my baby

I need to see the look on your face A kiss from your lips…oh the taste, baby Nothing waiting for me but a lonely room I’ve gotta get back to you baby – soon

Cab driver Take me home Spent too much time away Too much time alone Cab driver Take me home Spent too much time away from my baby

Listening to David’s “Who I Am,” I had visions of David in LA trying to get a cab to go back home (not necessarily to see his girl, but who knows?). Regardless he has to get back to Utah!! Via Nashville? Perhaps. But certainly David has to get back to writing and recording all that music we know is in him. And someday again, very soon, I hope my next road trip will be to see and hear David’s “jazz and soul” at a show!!

In a timeless, coming of age song, David tells us he’s “Gonna take the time now,” “It’s OK, ’cause I know where I’m going!” Trust the Archuleta!!

And as good as it is to get back home, hopefully David will never tire of being on the road! Just remember to step out of the cab, David.
Daryl has some good advice:

Like this:

Been doing a lot of thinking about life the past few days. I reconnected with some family and friends I had kind of lost touch with for a while. That’s so easy to do and they were feeling the need too, but like me, just didn’t make the call. Then I set up my studio in a spare room, got out my paints and brushes, and placed before me a huge three foot by three foot white empty canvas. It’s a scary sight but exciting too! Made a lot of absolutely horrible sketches on paper and felt really good about it! Then I got into bed and the tweet came from David. I lay in the dark with my phone and read the whole article. It was just what I needed to hear.

I want to share a dream I had earlier this week about David. In the dream I was sitting at my computer on the YouTube site, and a new music video appeared with him striding forward smiling. It was all in this cool bluish filter effect and there was a nice beat and just when he came really close and I thought he was going to sing, he stopped and said, “Wait.” Then blank screen!! In my dream I yelled, “Nooooooo!! What are you doing? You have a MAGNIFICENT VOICE!” Then off camera, (or off dream) I heard a loud voice say to me, “STOP! You are looking through a pin hole.” I saw a tiny aperture appear in the distance and through it I could only see a small part of David’s face. All around was this vastness I couldn’t see past but in my dream I felt so much was going on back there. Then I woke up.

It set me to pondering. What do you think is going on beyond our view? And is it, as in my dream, bigger than we imagine?

The sound post is a small cylindrical spruce stick wedged between the belly and back of the instrument, like a hidden pillar between floor and roof. In violin making one also calls this little piece of wood the soul (anima in Italian). The reason for this is that the sound post plays a considerable role in producing the sound that the violin maker can get out of the instrument.

View of a sound postthrough the end pin holeat the bottom of the violin.

I played the violin in school from 4th grade through 12th. But although I dearly love music, the violin was my Dad’s choice, not mine. I was never really a pro, and I did not like the sounds I made. The violin got used very little after high school and put away for good after I got married. I may have got it out three or four times in forty years. I dabbled with the piano a little, wrote songs for my family that I recorded by (painfully) typing out one note at a time on the computer. But the violin never entered my thoughts.

Then, with most of the kids gone and no one here to play guitar, piano, etc. but me, (and I can’t!) I fell into such a desert of music-less existence that it brought me to the unthinkable: the violin.

So, last spring I took the violin that my Dad had proudly brought home when I was nine and had it checked out. Hummmm. Seems like he had made a pretty good purchase after all. Seems like it just needed a new (list of a lot of things for a lot of money). But they said it was a good violin and that it was worth it. I paid the price. Then I brought it home, full of trepidation. Oh. My. Gosh. For the first time in all my memory, I liked the sound I heard. It was not that I was such a terrible player after all (although, frankly, I am still pretty much a beginner!) it was that the “sound post” in the violin was inadequate, positioned incorrectly, and needed to be replaced with a new one. It changed the tone, the sound, the vibration, the openness, the everything of my violin. It finally had a voice.

Sometimes, I think life is like that: we make an effort and we never really see much of an effect. Then, a new piece falls into place and everything is different. Our efforts were not in vain. Our skills may be greater than we supposed. Perhaps we were growing all that time and we did not even know it. Perhaps, (just perhaps!) we really are where and who we need to be.

I think this is one reason we like listening to DA: When he sings, a different vibration stirs within us, giving us music that we think is his… but really, it is just another sweet connection to our own “sound post”, and reminds us of the true music that lies deep within us. We hear a different “tone”, a new yet somehow familiar “sound”, an “openness”, that is both compelling and vulnerable: We hear a voice.

DA got his own, dear, vocal chords to wrap around like an embrace, but it is his own “sound post”, his own true self, that brings life to the music we hear, and joy to our hearts.

here

once you see this

actually.

(self-effacing laughter)

With that very David-like intro comes the story and motivation behind the original song “Broken,” written by David Archuleta with Jon Hunt for the album BEGIN. In an age of narcissism comes a rejection of all that: an outward-focused man of humility. “I wanted to make a goal to do some original stuff and write music that was real to me and just my own voice, my own sound.”

This is who he is and how he sounds when he feels the song and why we are still here. Actually.

When I see something wonderful that talented people are doing, I always get excited and I wonder, “How is this going to fit into what DA will need, or be doing, or have available, etc. when he comes home?”

Why? Because: I believe.

I believe that things that bless others will also bless him. I believe that because there are so many changes happening within the music industry and how “brands” are created, produced and marketed, that a new paradigm is emerging that will bless his life as well as the lives of others. I believe DA is young, savvy, focused and inspired. I do not say that it will all be roses, smooth sailing, or that everything will magically fall into place, but I do believe absolutely that new horizons of opportunity will be available to him. And when he is blessed, so are we.

My case in point for today: ThePianoGuys.

I had been hearing about Jon Schmidt, a creative composer/pianist, for a long time and have gone to two of his concerts. He is well known in our area and offers concerts each year. When I first saw him on You Tube, I saw this title above the vid: ThePianoGuys. I thought that was a little strange, since he was the only person in the videos. Later, I saw several vids where he was performing duets with Steven Sharp Nelson, a wonderful cellist. I loved the music but was still a bit confused by the title. Being that I am a bit slow, it was not until this last summer when I attended a concert close to home that I caught the full vision of what they, ThePianoGuys were all about.

From their Official Channel:

Five guys from different walks of life with different skill sets, from different places — each had built their own careers: a piano store owner/videographer (Paul Anderson), a music producer (Al van der Beek), a videographer/editor (Tel Stewart), a pianist (Jon Schmidt), and a cellist (Steven Sharp Nelson). But all with the same ambition: to inspire the world with the talents given them. Each met through seemingly-happenstance, but divinely-influenced circumstances. Combined, they had the tools, the passion, and the drive necessary to independently build one of the most successful music video production companies in the world. They are famous for taking their instruments (especially grand pianos) and video equipment to unbelievable places. But above all, ThePianoGuys love what they do — and it shows. At the end of the day, they are ordinary guys that love their families and that thank God for the opportunity they have to do what they love.

It was then that I finally realized that ThePianoGuys was a collaborative effort: when you go to their website, the three that seldom appear as performers on video are given top billing and space. All are equal to the importance of the creation of their “brand”. What is most exciting to me is that their very successful brand was chosen, produced and offered to the public on their own terms, not those of someone else. No record company told them what they could or could not be. No marketing body handed them a pre-fabricated identity, relegating them by color, size, or sound to fit neatly into one of the few molded shapes allowed in a modern music cafeteria tray. They became famous through YouTube, posting their first video in March of 2010. Two years and 39 videos later, many produced a week apart, they now have a total of 205,419,123 views and 1,178,305 subscribers to their channel.

In December 2011, they released their first album and their second album, released in 2012 reached number one on the Billboard New Age Albums chart.

So… without further ado, here is an example of what can be accomplished when people follow their passion and remain true to themselves.

One of my favs, sure to make you smile:

One of my passions, sure to inspire:

One of their newest, sure to make you believe in dreams:

The other day I caught this comment on YouTube under one of their videos:

“wow that was awesome ps you guys should make a David Archuleta song”

Now, from time to time they do record their arrangements/videos with a singer. And I have a pretty good idea who I think would sound best. You might want to save some time on your calendar for a certain returned missionary in 2014 Piano Guys. Can you say “Broken”?

Post script: “The Piano Guys” last concert in SLC was produced and recorded for PBS and they just recently got signed by a label: Sony Masterworks. On first hearing this I worried. But then I saw the company they were in…

Conclusion: Talented people are leading fulfilling lives sharing their passion and abilities on their own terms. Can David Archuleta be successful doing this? Things beyond our knowing are aligning for him and others like him.

Without question: Yes. I believe.

The following is a synopsis from PR Newswire introducing all Five Guys in a rare performance together on video:

Ironically, The Piano Guys, who got their name from a piano store in St. George, Utah, are a quintet featuring only two musicians – only one being a pianist. Store owner Paul Anderson devised a Facebook promotional page and a YouTube channel featuring well-established, self-described “New Age Classical” pianist Jon Schmidt , who teamed up musically with Steven Sharp Nelson , an innovative cellist. Together, Schmidt and Nelson form the musical core of The Piano Guys, with Anderson – who has since closed the store – joining forces with genius co-videographer Tel Stewart in creating The Piano Guys’ videos. Al van der Beek , the fifth “Guy,” heads up the group’s studio operations, and also assists in co-writing and arranging, as well as percussion and vocal texturing. As seen in their One Direction video, in performance, all five of The Piano Guys frequently appear together.

Article submitted by MT

Emotions have been running high throughout the fan base since David announced that he has elected to serve a full time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I felt much the same as most of you when I heard the news. At first I couldn’t believe my ears. Then, when I realized I wasn’t just hearing things, that he had actually said those words, I kind of went into shock. Then I wanted to use his own lyrics and tell him; “Wait, wait, wait don’t go!” Is that a little crazy? Maybe. But I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. It has taken me a long time to come to grips with it. But after thinking long and hard about it, I think I have finally made my own peace with it. And I’d like to tell you why.

As much as I will miss David during the two years he will be on his mission, I think it will benefit him in so many ways. I’m happy for him; happy that he’s made this decision because I think it’s what he really, really needed to do.

I love David. He is a unique individual and an enormously talented young man. He is also one of the kindest, most loving, giving individuals I have ever come across. There is an incredible beauty in his spirit that is absolutely undeniable. You can both see it and hear it when he sings. It is his nature to give, to want to do for others, to help heal the hurts, to encourage those who have dreams. And he has already done this for more people than he could possibly ever know. It is ‘who he is’ and I couldn’t be more proud of him if he was my own son.

Now, I am going to venture out into dangerous territory with an opinion that I realize many may disagree with. But I feel a need to say this because it’s part of why I think he needs to do this for himself.

I think there are some things that have held David back in his career. And I think needing to serve a mission was a large part of it. By not going on a mission at an earlier age, in trying to do a mission through music instead, I believe there were certain standards that he felt he needed to meet in his behavior and his music during the last few years. His career was being driven by an idea of how it could be used to help others rather than being focused on success in the music industry. Don’t get me wrong! I’m not saying it’s a bad thing! But it’s my firm belief that David’s focus has been divided, not allowing him to give himself fully to one or the other.

For this reason, I think he needs to go. I think he’s right in doing what his heart has been telling him all along he needed to do, commit himself fully to serving others for a time.

I don’t believe for one minute that David will ever be less caring or loving or kind than he is now. I don’t believe he will ever want to stop supporting various charities, especially those that benefit children, or wanting to accomplish something good with his music. This is something I love about him. But (and this may sound selfish) I am hoping to see one change in David when he returns.

You see, as a fan, I can’t help but hope there is another benefit to it for him. A side effect if you will. My hope is that upon completion of his mission, he will finally allow himself to focus on his career and on his success in the music industry, that he will finally feel that he has served his Heavenly Father well and will now allow himself to have a desire for success without feeling that it’s wrong to want it. Because I don’t think it is. Am I wrong because I want him to want it for himself?

Let me ask a question to all of you reading this. Do you really believe that David will ever have the success that his great talent deserves without truly wanting it? Can ANYONE ever truly be successful without really wanting it?

I don’t think so. And I don’t think he’ll let himself want to do something for himself until he is satisfied that he has done what he can for others first. So I hope we can all let David go and do what he must, do what his heart is telling him to do without worrying about us.

We will miss him more than he could ever know but we’ll be okay. We’ll go on with our lives while keeping him in our hearts and keeping a close eye out for any news of him, waiting as patiently as we can for his return.

May God bless him and keep him safe and healthy while he is away.

Time will pass quickly as we keep David close by revisiting the past through his videos and songs (and maybe even some new songs released while he’s gone) while he moves towards his future. When he’s ready to come home, I’ll be here waiting to see what surprises he has in store for us. I hope you will be, too.